


In the Poison Garden

by Cornerofmadness



Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 06:28:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20755844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerofmadness/pseuds/Cornerofmadness
Summary: At a quick glance, Abby thinks she knows what the murder weapon was.





	In the Poison Garden

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer** \- As always, I don’t own them
> 
> **Author’s Note** – This was written for vanillafluffy for the prompt: Any crime fandom, any, Flowers that are beautiful but deadly

XXX 

“Someone really wanted her dead and didn’t even try to hide it,” Abby said, a hint of a growl to her voice, startling McGee as he worked to find his way into Ensign Preston’s laptop.

He glanced her way. “You got that through the analysis already?” he asked in shock.

“I don’t have to run it.” Abby thumped a bouquet in a pint glass down on the counter next to him. “Look at this bouquet, McGee,” she demanded.

McGee studied it for a moment, unsure of what he was meant to get out of it. It was pretty with pink and white five petaled flowers, pink and white dotted bell-shaped ones on tall spires and a particularly lovely blue-purple ones. “It’s very pretty but I’m not seeing what you are.” He peeled the flowers apart. “Is there a hidden weapon? We didn’t see any injuries on her.”

Abby shook hear head, her pigtails flying. “No, McGee, the bouquet _is_ the murder weapon.”

“How? Oh, wait, that’s foxglove, isn’t it?” He ticked a finger against the bell-shaped ones. He had more than one science degree, but computers fascinated him more than biology had, especially botany.

She nodded. “And oleander and larkspur. Any one of these can kill you and look at them. They’re a little wilty so they’ve been in water for a few days, and they can diffuse toxins into the water.”

“And that’s a drinking glass. Maybe it’s not murder.” McGee cocked his head “It might be an accident.”

Abby spread her hands. “Maybe. Certainly, there are a lot of people out there that think if it’s a plant, it’s safe and harmless. That’s how so many people overdose on herbal supplements. But there’s not a single non-deadly plant in that bouquet. I call that suspicious.”

“But where would you find so many deadly plants?”

Abby sighed. “That’s just it. Anywhere. Oleander is great at sucking up carbon monoxide so it’s planted all along highways. There isn’t anything in this bouquet you couldn’t buy at Home Depot, Lowes or Wal-Mart.”

McGee whistled. “I didn’t realize it was that easy to find a bouquet of death.” He glanced up at her. “But how did you recognize it so fast?”  
She snorted. “Poison gardens are big in Goth culture, McGee,” she said as if he should have known and in retrospect he should have guessed. “I’ll run the labs of course, but I’m pretty sure that’s our murder weapon.”

“Agreed. You call Gibbs and I’ll get back to work on this laptop and see if I can find a motive.”

“Will do.” Abby put the bouquet on her own desk. She stroked the flowers. “Sometimes death is so beautiful.”

McGee had no answer to that.


End file.
